


The Godseekers and the Gods

by Schnikeys_Discuss (Schnikeys)



Series: Clockie's Meta [22]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Analysis, Archived from radioactivesupersonic Blog, Character Analysis, Gen, Nonfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27066919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schnikeys/pseuds/Schnikeys_Discuss
Summary: "So possibly, the Godseekers’primaryplan was to find a new god, but, failing that, they’d simply continue to defeat and attune to stronger beings until one of them became a god themselves.The long and short of it is, it’s likely the Godseekers are clingy to the idea of a god because they’re traumatized fromdeath. Hallownest is an area with multiple higher beings living there, which would logically sustain its ecosystem."
Series: Clockie's Meta [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974223
Kudos: 9





	The Godseekers and the Gods

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ClockworkRainbow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClockworkRainbow/gifts).



sepublic asked: As the Shade Lord, do you think Ghost would take advantage of their newfound authority to try and teach the Godseekers that there’s more to life than just flinging themselves at the feet of higher beings that don’t necessarily care about them?

* * *

I mean, I think it’s more complicated than just saying ‘The Godseekers have a self-destructive problem’.

I made a post poking at this idea before, but, the world Hallownest occupies appears to be one where Higher Beings, as physiological organisms, occupy a vital niche in the ecosystem. The Seer says that forgetting something is “the only death that matters” and given the Radiance’s story, it seems the only way for a Higher Being to die is for them to have no believers.

On the flipside, the lifeless or nigh-lifeless wastelands beyond the Kingdom, and the presence of the cult in Pharloom and the concept of “Driven mad by song”- when the main Godseeker’s dialogue repeatedly alludes to the idea of discerning god from mortal by “singing”- all seems to be a pretty good indication that whether or not Pharloom has living gods right at the moment, the kingdom is going to be _very concerned with gods_.

It would seem like the planet’s habitable zones are tied to the presence of gods in the area. Which puts a flavor of urgency on the Godseekers’ quest and lament and reflect how the whole tribe seems to have mummified themselves and then hid inside their leader’s dream, who, alone, carried them to Hallownest- because it’s likely the Land of Storms was in the process of becoming uninhabitable. It’s not that the Godseekers can’t stand the idea of living without serving a god- it’s rather, they might be desperate for a sustained ecosystem.

After all, many of the entities they considered gods are basically just animals like the Gruz Mother or the Brooding Mawlek. That suggests, if it proved Sufficiently Divine, they’d worship something nonsapient.

We don’t know entirely how Higher Beings are made- presumably, some species are inherently prone to that, such as the Wyrms, but large amounts of Essence seem to be a major factor, since Ghost becoming the Shade Lord is a combination of the Awoken Dream Nail, as does the faith and assistance of all of their void siblings. From that, and “attuning” themselves through the Godseekers’ method of ascension, that cues their development, as indicated by their statue.

So possibly, the Godseekers’ _primary_ plan was to find a new god, but, failing that, they’d simply continue to defeat and attune to stronger beings until one of them became a god themselves.

The long and short of it is, it’s likely the Godseekers are clingy to the idea of a god because they’re traumatized from _death._ Hallownest is an area with multiple higher beings living there, which would logically sustain its ecosystem.

So I guess what that means is, the Godseekers will probably need a couple generations to chill the hell out because their desperate reverence strikes me as- just that- desperate. “We need to be safe, we need to be protected, we need to be looked after, we _need a god_.”

That said, would Ghost be a little nervous about that? Yeah. I imagine they kinda miss the time when Godseeker would dismissively call them a Crawler and not urgently try to discern Their Will from stuff they’re doing. They just want to throw down with the Mantis Lords in a friendly manner sometimes Godseeker, please calm down, it’s fine.

Part of it is, while I like the idea that Ghost might take a certain interest in finery, they’ve got no real taste for _opulence_. At the end of the day, anything that cuts into their wandering, adventuring, and exploring, they don’t have too much patience for. They don’t strike me as the type to settle down, but they cohabitate well enough having a home base to which they return to. 

I think that’d be their big issue with the Godseekers’ reverence- because Bretta’s journal made it pretty clear that even if they’re a Dirtmouth Regular, they seldom stay for long and have comparatively longer stints outside- when the Godseekers are traumatized by the idea of their gods abandoning them, Ghost wouldn’t want to be in that position where their followers are desperately guessing how long this next excursion will be and if Ghost is ever coming back.

That might motivate them to train and arm some of the Godseekers, with this idea that both if they’re using fragments of Ghost’s power, they won’t feel like Ghost is abandoning them just because they want to go exploring, and if they’re not totally reliant on Ghost then they might be able to feel more of a comfortable middle-ground of confident rather than “Thou Art Beneath Us Crawler” or “Oh Splendorous Dark Wouldst Thou Prefer To Destroy Us Where We Stand”

**Author's Note:**

> Analysis originally found here: <https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/post/183794607465/as-the-shade-lord-do-you-think-ghost-would-take>


End file.
